


Late Nights

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Nightmares, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24947227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: Sleep was a fickle thing on Sanctuary III, or at least, it was for Lilith.
Relationships: Lilith/Patricia Tannis
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Late Nights

Sleep was a fickle thing on Sanctuary III, or at least, it was for Lilith. 

Ever since the loss of her Siren powers her entire being had been off. A consistent sleep schedule was completely out of the question, given that she could swing wildly between sleepless nights spent pondering the Crimson Raiders next move and passing out for fourteen hours straight. The only constant was the fact that once she  _ did _ fall asleep, Lilith could scarcely drag herself out of bed before noon if it wasn't an emergency. Thankfully being in space meant that time didn't have quite the same meaning anymore. Early morning on the ship could just as easily have been midday. 

But that evening when sleep did grace her, it didn't stay for long. She was awoken by some nightmare or another, unable to recall just which one it was when her eyes peeled open. The first thing she noticed was the uncomfortable crick in her neck. Lilith stretched until the tension relieved itself, only then making a second observation. 

"Fuckin' hell-" She startled into a half-sitting position and her head spun from the swiftness of it, "Tannis, what are doing?"

She didn't need to ask that question, not really. Especially not when Tannis would take the question literally and just state exactly what she could already see with her own eyes. Which was that, for some godforsaken reason, she was sitting on the floor staring right back at Lilith with those sharp, green eyes that made her stomach flip whenever they met. Although, that was probably because Tannis rarely allowed for them to do so. She was honestly kind of impressed that they remained watching her for as long as they had so far. 

Rather than answer, Tannis shrugged half-heartedly and averted her gaze at last. There was something melancholy enough about the movements that the last vestiges of sleep were finally shaken from Lilith's skull. Dark circles hung beneath her eyes, made more noticeable by the pale lighting of the room. Even the green of her irises, usually alive with intelligence and questions for the world around her, seemed dulled and borderline lifeless. Tannis looked as utterly exhausted as she'd felt after having her powers drained. Anxiety wormed its way through her insides, played up by the lack of sleep fogging her mind.

"What's wrong?" 

"I don't know." Her voice broke and warbled off by the last word. 

Lilith felt her heart break a little bit. Long nights, spent haunted by everything from bad decisions to unfair positions, were no stranger to someone like her. She didn't need to know every detail of Tannis' life to recognize the signs. But by this point she'd learned enough, both from the woman herself and the many hidden echo logs she'd fetched, to have a few solid guesses. The look on Tannis' face was enough to keep her from musing aloud, however.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Lilith asked, stifling a yawn with her hand.

"Your face."

"What about it?"

Tannis tapped her foot on the floor a few times before answering, "For reasons that escape me, I found it oddly calming."

She had to fight off an amused snort, knowing that her friend absolutely wouldn't appreciate that sort of reaction at the moment. The careful control over her mind had no bearing on her body, unfortunately. Lilith could feel her cheeks heat up over this touching revelation. It was only a mild consolation that Tannis would most likely wouldn't read into the blushing. The one upside to crushing on someone like her was that, unless Lilith said so aloud, the chances of her  _ realizing _ it were slim to none. 

That was a large part of the reason she had even suggested this living arrangement at all. With anybody else, Lilith would have absolutely balked at the thought of sharing her quarters with someone she was interested in. She was not a subtle person and that would be her undoing under other circumstances. But with Tannis, there was no worrying on that part. However, the torture of living in the same room and doing nothing except  _ thinking _ about acting on her feelings? Absolutely terrible.

Lilith wiped a hand over her face, "Alright, but next time...uh, maybe let me know first."

"Is this one of those politeness things?"

For a moment she contemplated admitting that, no, if it were about being polite then she'd be suggesting just not staring at someone  _ at all _ . But Lilith had a weakness and finding out that the object of her affection found her face comforting? Oh, she wouldn't  _ dream  _ of asking Tannis to stop doing that now. She'd take whatever bone life threw her at this point. 

"Yep, staring at someone while they're asleep is rude. Asking them first is...less rude."

"Hm." Tannis made a soft sound as she pondered that, no doubt weighing the logic behind it.

There were no further questions and silence lulled between, as comforting as a blanket. Her eyelids began to droop again. It was impossible to discern what cycle the ship was on and Lilith was far too tired to look around the room for something that would reveal the time to her. Tannis continued to stare off to the side, hands ringing anxiously. An internal debate seemed to war on her face. For the first time, Lilith wondered just how long her friend had been sitting there watching before she awoke.

"Alright, you know what?" She sighed and rubbed her temple in preemptive embarrassment, "C'mere. There's enough room in this bunk for two of us."

"What?"

"You're going to kill your back if you just sit there hunched over. This way you can look at my face and at least be comfortable."

She expected an outright refusal. The handful of times Lilith could recall them actually being physically beside each other had all been against Tannis' will. She'd been drunk enough to pass out against her once, trapping them together for an unspecified amount of time. A few times Lilith had grabbed her to get her away from some enemy or another. But to actually propose they share a bed for a night? It was probably a step too far over the line.

Tannis looked too exhausted to argue, however, and simply nodded. 

"Ah, ah-" Lilith held out a hand as she moved towards the bunk, "Shoes off first."

"I was going to do that."

Her heart sped up a few notches as Tannis sat on the edge of the bunk to remove her boots. For a moment the reality of the situation hit her, that Lilith had honestly just invited someone she had feelings for into her bed. Completely platonically. Which was rather unfortunate, given that others had always been quick to point out the fact that she was aggressively clingy in her sleep. Was there still time to backtrack on that offer? No, Tannis shifted at that moment, sitting hip-to-hip and tucking her feet under the covers. She rested her head on her knees and glanced cautiously at Lilith. The image of a stray cat begrudgingly allowing someone near it flashed in her mind. 

A jolt of affection made her heart skip a beat and Lilith coughed into one hand awkwardly, "Just so you know, I've been told I hog blankets."

"I won't be spending the entire night here." Tannis insisted, as she fought off a yawn.

"Of course."

Neither of them commented on the fact that, as Lilith awoke several hours later, Tannis was still there.

**Author's Note:**

> There are two beds in Lilith's room of Sanctuary III. There is no discernible bed, except for cots, in Tannis' lab on Sanctuary III. So really them sharing a room is canon compliant aight? No I will not be taking cristism on that. 
> 
> anyways, this was a prompt from a friend of mine that I was all too happy to make a reality. if ya wanna see my writing before its posted here or just my shitposts, my borderlands tumblr is tannithvibes! as always, all comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!!!


End file.
